Mayor, Council Should Be Applauded For Listening

I really have to commend our mayor and council for their leadership and willingness to be open and present for one incredible meeting on Thursday, Oct. 5. The real estate and contractor folks came prepared to argue and debate with their set of facts and viewpoints and this turned out for the better as a healthy part of our democratic process.

I commend our Mayor Bob Edwards and his leadership style that helped turn what could have been an ugly and mean spirited event into a healthy, American, democratic, small town experience. I was proud to be an American and a citizen of Payson.

I also was given the opportunity to hear some interesting facts and I saw some of the old attitudes that got us into the dilemma we are in now.

I must say I was impressed with the attentiveness and presence of our town employees. Their expressions, eye contact and visual involvement in the process changed my impression of our local governments accessibility and their sincere interest in serving the community. I personally left feeling like a respected person and a part of this community for the first time, as any and all could had their time to speak and were shown common public respect regardless of their viewpoint.

Here are a few things I sorted out from this meeting:

1. We need to know how much and where our water is coming from to base any realistic future growth. So, until we have those facts, uncontrolled growth is a real negative to our community. We need to resolve this issue intelligently, with a community-wide consensus and as soon as possible.

2. Those who want to resolve the issues facing our community need to get on board the citizens task force "fact finding and idea resolution" movement, rather than fight it. Your input and contributions could be extremely valuable.

3. We need to unite as a community and resolve these issues together rather than "fight and bite" each other to bloody pieces. When all the facts are in, we will most likely have to work together as a community to get the attention and good will of the federal and state powers that be, and petition them for our fair share of water resources that could be allocated to us. Yet, if we cannot unite with this elected council and fight together toward this objective, who will take our city seriously when the time comes to grant the water rights? Those who are continually finding fault and stirring the pot may be doing us all more harm than good.

4. Those who would be future leaders need to realize that the majority of us are fed up with past leadership and lack of resolve in these areas and will continually vote into office leaders who will tackle the tough issues to resolve them within a majority consensus in a fair and respectful manner.

Thank you Mayor Bob Edwards and all our elected council for your character and courage in leading the way.